Tara Murray
Woodend-Hesket’s first foray in finals in the Riddell District Football League A-grade competition has been a successful one.
The Hawks, who finished the regular season in second spot, showed no nerves as they accounted for Diggers Rest on Saturday in their qualifying final on Saturday.
Hawks coach Meg Grbac said it was pretty exciting for the club having grown and developed throughout the years.
“It was super exciting,” she said. “The club has been amazing and so supportive.
“The girls were really good and the under-19s won and got the double chance as well. It was a good day for the club.”
Grbac said there were always some nerves come finals, but for them it was about sticking with what had worked.
She said they had a chat during the week and relied on the more experienced players to make sure they were ready come game time.
“We were pleased with how we dealt with it,” she said.
“Our first quarter was our best quarter of the game so we were able to contain our nerves.”
The Hawks were able to hold onto the lead and ended up winning, 32-27.
The match started in rain and difficult conditions, before drying out in the second half. Grbac said that the court drying out worked to their advantage and they were able to slow the ball down and control the match.
She said they were thrilled with how they played overall.
“It was really good,” she said. “We had a few rotations and showed some good depth with players coming off the bench.
“We were hoping to do that in finals and show some versatility coming onto the court.
“Diggers is a great side and got within two goals. I’m super proud.”
The Hawks will face Macedon for a spot in the grand final. The Cats had a bye in the first week of finals. The loser will go through to the preliminary final.
Grbac said they were looking forward to that challenge.
“It’s fantastic to play Diggers Rest and Macedon in finals,” she said. “It’s a good test of where we are at and what to expect come finals.
“It’s a great opportunity to play Macedon, who finished on top of the ladder. We have so much respect and it will be a really good challenge.
The Hawks under-19s will face the Western Rams in their semi final.
